


Long Sleeves

by Do_It_Again (Loloshroom)



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Also brad isnt explored???? Fuck you ninjago fandom, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Because im lazy and dont want to write a cannon thing, But i dont want to do a movie fic....... h, But!! You cannot say your name, F/F, Just.... p much everyone, M/M, NaNoWriMo 2017, Polyamory, Soulmate au where you can write on your skin and it shows up on their skin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-28 17:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12612024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loloshroom/pseuds/Do_It_Again
Summary: Kai hates his soulmates, and his father makes him go to a dojo. Shenanigans ensues.





	1. Nya That's My Stuff, Do Not Touch.

Kai always hated the idea of soulmates. He did not want his sister to be wrapped up in some random person, that could potentially undo his years of raising her due to their nearly entirely absent parents. At the same time, he always thought that it would be inevitable that Nya would meet her soulmate. He remembered when she turned thirteen, and how excited she was when she wrote to them at first. On her arm, she wrote a simple “Hello!” with a smiley face. Kai appreciated the giddy look on her face, and the flapping of her hands when her soulmate eventually responded. Nya was probably the thing that kept him going.

Oh, his soulmate? Kai does not like to think about them. Every night they write goodnight to each other, all written at different times due to sleeping habits onset by responsible, or irresponsible parents. The blue one writes first, then the white, then Kai. He wakes up with a black goodnight scrawled hastily on Kai’s forehead each day. He honestly does not know what to make of the fact he has three different soulmates, but he could not be more sick of them. He would just be working on his dumb English essay that he had been working (procrastinating) on for the past few days, when a conversation about the quality of the Emoji Movie would burst out on his arm. The blue one insisting it was of high quality, while the white one actually was sensible and said it was a big advertising campaign. The black one would just offer witty commentary here and there. Kai never joined in their conversations, the only reason they know he is still around are his nightly well wishes.

“You’re going to have to talk to them eventually Kai.” Nya said one day, when the lunchroom was just as full as it always was. Kai could not even focus on Nya, the noise was like a low rumble of thunder, save for some kids doing various activities, like slapping each other with banana peels. You know, usual teenage things, “It’s been what? Four years? Do they even know you exist?”

“Uh? Yeah they do. I say things sometimes.” Kai insisted, playing with the mashed potatoes and creamed corn on his tray. He was not feeling hungry.

“Yeah, ‘Sometimes'.” Nya rolled her eyes, “Kai, do you even know one of their favorite shows?” Nya said as she shoveled some of Kai’s corn in her mouth. Kai remained silent, not caring enough to lie, “Your silence speaks volumes.”

“It’s not my fault I don’t know! They’ve never mentioned it.” Kai snapped, pouting before slapping Nya’s spoon away from his food, “Hey! You know that’s mine.”

“You weren't eating it, so I helped myself.” Nya smirked. And so the conversation moved to normal sibling bickering. There was one thing Kai knew about them, they lived relatively close. Now weather that was the same town, or same state, he did not know. He only knew they were close because he saw the blue one talking about his football team. It filled him with a nervous energy to know that they must be that close to him.

Once school was over, and he was back at their small apartment, he quickly called his parents.

“Hey mom.” Kai said, once she picked up.

“Oh! Kai, how are you? It’s so good to hear from you.”

Kai smiled. She was always so happy to hear from him, even if he called her every day. She always sounded surprised and happy, “I’m well. Mom, when will you and Dad be home?” He asked, nervously tapping his foot, “I have a big game on Saturday, and… It would be awesome if you came.”

“Kai, sweetie, you know we won't be back until the week after next. I’m sorry, but we just can’t make it.” 

His heart sank. Kai knew they would not be back for a while, but he still held onto the small glimmer of hope that maybe she could come, “Alright…”

“Oh! And Kai, did you try for that martial arts school in Ninjago City? Your dad and I really think it could be helpful for you to expand your social life.”

“Mom, you know I have enough friends as is.” Kai laughed nervously as he said that. His friends consisted of Nya, and Lloyd, some kid in math class a few grades below him.

“Oh I know sweetie, but I still think it would be good for you.” There was some muffled talking on the other end, presumably his father, “I gotta run Kai. Thanks for calling! I love you!”

“I love-” The call is dead sound rang, “You too…” sighing, Kai hung up the phone and turned around to be face to face with Nya. He screamed in shock as she laughed,

“Kai, I packed your duffle bag for the school, and you can take the bus, classes start in an hour so you should get going.” She shoved the bag at his chest, as Kai grimaced.

“Nya, you know I don’t want to go, right?” Kai said as he slowly pushed the bag and Nya’s hands away, “I only signed up to make dad happy, so I’m not gonna go until he comes home.” He crossed his arms, “And that’s final.” Nya pouted, holding the bag tightly,

“Please?” Nya looked up at him with wide puppy eyes, “I’ll do your homework if you go.” She smirked as she said that. Bribery was one way to unlock Kai’s heart. He sighed, taking the bag. Nya, despite being a year younger, was without a doubt, the smarter of the two. Kai would not even argue with her on that one.

“See you in a few hours sis!” Kai called over his shoulder, as he quickly ran out the hall and out of the complex. Once he reached the bus stop he just stood there and waited. As much as he did not want to go, he knew that his dad would eventually find out anyways, and that would only cause more trouble than what Kai was willing to deal with.

Once Kai was on the bus, he noticed people having various conversations on their smartphones, with each other, or with their soulmates. Kai was stuck standing, watching a girl a few years older than him write on her arm. The way her glitter pen sparkled in the dim afternoon sun and artificial light in the bus. Kai did not care for what she was writing, but he did care about the fact she was contacting the person. They must be lucky, having a soulmate who actually talks to them. Kai sighed, rolling up his long sleeves. 

Truth is, he hates having multiple soulmates, and the bad social stigma around them. The ink is a pain to wash off, and they just will not stop talking. He glanced at the conversation between the blue pen and black pen.

_ “Dude my fucking Mom wants to drive me to senior prom, whenever that happens. I think I might die.”  _

_ “May you rest in peace.” _

_ “SHOULDN’T YOU CARE MORE ABOUT THIS I'M YOUR HECKING SOULMATE!!” _

_ “I got two more.” _

_ “RUDE!!!!!!!!” _ an angry face followed, and then not legible scribbles after.

Kai stifled a laugh. There was one thing he could admit, their bickering was rather funny. He sighed, suddenly very aware of the people around him and hastily put his sleeve back down.

Once the bus arrived in the city, Kai started to track the route through all of the grid streets. He had only been there a few times with his dad, but he could remember the way there pretty well. It was close to a pizzeria he liked to go to as a kid. The air grew colder as the time went on,  due to his sidetracking, he was five minutes late to the class. Kai immediately went to apologize when he entered,

“Sensei I’m so sor-” Suddenly, a kid landed on the mat only a few feet away. Some other kids were staring at the kid, others were staring at Kai, “I-Is this a bad time?” he joked, about to back out when an old man approached him.

“You’re late. No matter, get changed. Cole, get up. We will try again.” He was Wu. One of the two brothers than ran the dojo. Kai met him a few times, and Garmadon was in charge of the more experienced kids. Cole, the kid who landed in front of him groaned, getting up and getting into a fighting stance across from another kid. 

Kai quickly ran into the locker room and got changed into his gi that Nya packed. Thank god, Kai thought, she brought the one with sleeves. Kai quickly returned to the main area and stood in line, next to some kid with brown hair. “He’s pushing him too hard…” the boy thought aloud. He looked about Kai’s age, maybe a little younger, he could not really tell. Cole, the boy from before, was frowning at Wu, but reluctantly got back in line. Whatever the two of them were doing, Cole had lost.

“Now then,” Wu had approached the whole class. The students of varying heights and ages looked to him, all attentive and interested. Except for Kai. Kai was looking miserable and like he did not want to be here, so like he always looked. “Today we have a new student. His name is Kai. I do hope you all can give him a warm welcome.” The students all turned to Kai. He was greeted with various eyes. Cold and bright blue ones, strong and defiant brown ones, deep and sad black ones as well. 

“Yo.” Kai said, giving them a friendly smirk. The brown haired kid next to him stifled a laugh at his informality, 

“Tell us about yourself, Kai.” Wu insisted, causing Kai to shrug.

“Well… I’m a junior in high school, quarterback on the Meadowbrook high school team. I uh… am tired?” Kai shrugges again, “I’m not that interesting, sorry…” A few people nodded, as if sympathetic or understanding. Kai was glad to not be the only boring one there.

One of the younger students, who had a bit too many freckles on his face and black hair cut in a bowl cut walked up to him, “Have you found your soulmate yet?” He quickly ran to Kai’s sleeves and started to roll them up, going on about how it would be strategically beneficial if he found his soulmate. Kai yanked his arm away, stumbling backwards as Wu put his staff down in between the two of them.

“We do not discuss such things here. The dojo is a place of focus on the art. I would have expected more from you, Brad.” Sighing, the old man shook his head and began to teach the lesson. Eventually, they had to spar, mimicking the strategy that was just demonstrated for them. Kai got paired up with the person next to him.

“The name’s Jay. It’s nice to meet you Kai.” Jay said before smiling wide. He had crooked teeth, some freckles, and a notch in his right eyebrow, “Now get ready to meet your match.” His eyes opened and stared intensely at Kai, getting into a defensive position. He had heterochromia, Kai noticed. His left eye was a sad blue, and his right eye was almost an amber color. Kai smirked, getting in a similar position as Jay.

“We’ll see.”


	2. Nya I Swear to God If You Don't Leave Me Alone I'll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Talk to them"  
> "Fuck you mom I do what I want"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so this is my NaNoWriMo thing Ive decided also People who Ship greenflame Get The Fuck Off This Fic  
> Like??? Nothing happens between them in this chapter but later they'll be bros so im giving yall a warning now

Kai did not lose. What are you talking about? He won every match against Jay. He definitely did  _ not  _ end up on the floor three times, and get frustrated over it. The way Jay helped him up every time did not make Kai get flustered. Totally and especially that last point.

Once Kai was on his feet, Jay just kept looking at him with the smuggest look on his face when a loud, “Again!” was yelled in the room. The duo turned to look at the source and found that Cole guy on the floor. He seemed to want to try again against his partner.

“Cole you’re being over dramatic.” Cole’s partner said. He had piercing and cold blue eyes, and pure white hair. He looked old, despite definitely being Kai’s age if he was being paired with Cole. 

Cole got on his feet, getting in the fighting stance, “Zane. Again.” He growled. Zane just rolled his eyes. Jay scoffed, distracting Kai from the anime battle happening over in the middle of the room.

“They do this every day.” Jay said, about as bored as you could be, “Zane should be in Garmadon’s class, but since he gets caught up in Cole’s nonsense, he is still in Wu’s class. Cole wants to beat Zane for unknown reasons.” Jay explained before cupping his hands around his mouth and cheering, “Go Zane!”

“Was this what was happening when I first arrived?” Kai asked, to only get a nod from Jay. The whole class now was watching the two of them go at it. Sometimes Cole would lose within seconds, and other times it would take longer. But every time, Cole lost. Wu just stared blankly at them, as if tired of this happening.

“Alright that’s enough you two.” Wu said eventually, “We need to continue on with the lesson.” Once Zane and Cole were in the line again, Wu continued on with the class.

“Those two kind of scare me…” Kai whispered to Jay when Wu had his back turned. Jay just shrugged, looking at Wu before turning back to Kai.

“They’re cool for the most part. It’s pretty hard to get on their bad side.” Jay shrugged again before facing forward again, just as Wu turned back around. The rest of the class went smoothly, considering there was only a little bit left. Once in the changing room, Zane actually approached Kai, patting him on the back,

“Welcome to the dojo, I hope that we can get along.” Zane smiled as he said that before making his leave. His normal clothes were just as nerdy as Kai expected. Jay was the next one to approach Kai, smiling wide at him,

“Dude we should hang out later. What’s your phone number?” Jay took out a small notebook and pen from his bag and handed them to Kai. Awkwardly, Kai wrote his number in the book, and once he handed the book back, he was handed a slip of paper with Jay’s number on it, “See you later!” Jay called as he ran out of the dojo. 

Once Kai made it home, he returned to Nya just eating some crackers and watching TV. It was some drama about soulmates and love triangles. Kai just rolled his eyes and sat next to Nya, who tossed him his homework all filled out. “You should talk to your soulmates.” Nya said, in a completely monotone voice. They had this discussion every day, and every time Kai would say no. Yet, Kai felt himself hesitate this time before shaking his head.

“Maybe later.” He said quietly, and was responded with the TV being turned off. Nya was staring right at him, completely stunned. She then grabbed Kai’s face, shaking him back and forth, shouting,

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?!?” Kai was just laughing through this until Nya finally calmed down, “You really should say something to them. I know they would love to get to know you.” Kai just chuckled, rolling his eyes. “I’m serious! Are you not taking this seriously Kai?” Nya frowned before shoving Kai’s red pen at his chest, “Talk. To. Them.” and with that, she left the room.

Kai was left with a red pen, the TV, and his phone. So what does he do?  He gets on his phone, obviously. He had a text from Jay, and a few from Lloyd too. Sighing, Kai took photos of his math homework for Lloyd and then checked on the message from Jay. 

**Jay⚡**

**Hey dude! This is Kai right?**

**You**

Yeah its me, how are ya? 

**I'm good, tbh math is dumb but engineering is dumber**

Engineering? You take that? 

**Yeah my mom wants me to. She's like the biggest contributing factor in my life. Same with my dad I guess lmao**

God I wish that were me

**Hfhdjdn okay but all joaks aside, I have to do school work and not keep procrastinating on this so… I guess this is goodbye?**

I’ll never let go, Jack. 

**Hey! It's Jay to you.**

Kai laughed as he set his phone face down on the table. He then checked his wrists, contemplating saying anything but knowing he will not anyways. The white and black were talking about music choices, the blue one seemed to not have been talking recently. Sighing, Kai decided that maybe it was time he would suck up his ego and talk to them. 

Tomorrow. Yeah, he will definitely talk to them tomorrow. Standing up, Kai went over to the kitchen and scrubbed off the ink in the sink. Then, he promptly put on his playlist and stuck his earbuds in and stared out the window at the street below. 

Meadowbrook was about as generic a town name can get. It is almost as if the writer could not think of a name and just wrote down the most simple and easy to remember name that they could think of. But that is just simply unrealistic. Despite the town name being bland as all hell, the town itself had some cool features, Kai would think. I mean, it has a subway station that is over priced. That is cool, right? Okay so maybe it is not that cool, that is besides the point. Kai still liked to people watch from the window in the living room, no matter how creepy Nya said it was. 

Soon, as the sky got darker,  Kai knew he should head to bed. He checked his arms again, and saw that the blue one was already asleep, and the white one was in the middle of writing goodnight. Smiling, Kai grabbed his red pen and waited a bit, and wrote, 

_ “Goodnight” _

_ “Hey wait before you go, red.”  _

Kai’s eyes widened with panic. The black text had responded to him, that never happened. Heart racing Kai wrote slowly, 

_ “Yeah..?” _

_ “Omg you're actually talking I never thought I would get this far.” _

_ “Just get to the point.” _

_ “Ooo feisty I see how it is. Anywho, I was just curious as to why you say just goodnight and never talk.” _

_ “I figured you guys would want to hear from me at least once.” _

_ “Yeah but why not talk?” _

_ “It's embarrassing I guess.” _

_ “Man, fuck society and do what you want.” _

Kai smiled at that, shaking his head. Not knowing what else to say, he washed the ink off and knocked on Nya’s door. “Took you long enough.” She said, exasperated, “Did you talk to them?”

“Actually? Kinda yeah.” Kai smiled at Nya,  “I talked to one of them anyways.” Nya’s eyes widened and sparkled as she hugged Kai tight. 

“I’m so proud of you! Baby steps Kai,  baby steps…” She nuzzled her face in Kai’s chest before he pushed her off. 

“Okay okay, sheesh. I sometimes forget that I’m the proud older sibling, not you.” Kai laughed as Nya stuck out her tongue. Kai went the their bunk bed and jumped up the ladder. Nya just hung on her bottom bunk, staring up at the underside of Kai’s mattress, 

“Do you want the light off..?” She asked before Kai immediately responded yes. The lights went out and the room was enveloped in darkness. Kai lay there awake for a solid thirty minutes before drifting off into sleep. 


	3. Nya That's My Fucking Table Give it Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai gets kicked out, Lloyd laughs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cole is a theatre kid because I said so

School sucks. Kai hated every class he was in except math and gym. Gym because he was actually good at it, and math because he got to see Lloyd. Lloyd is like a brother to Kai. A little baby brother. Lloyd was like Nya in the sense that he was younger and still wicked smart. But Lloyd was smart enough to be taking junior level classes in freshman year. Lloyd was also the youngest in his year too, but he still managed being in one junior class.

Kai sat next to Lloyd, and promptly groaning and banging his head against his desk. Lloyd chuckled, saying, “Someone's over dramatic today.” Kai turned his head so his eyes looked over his shoulder at Lloyd,

“Lloyd, buddy,” Kai said, “I talked to this kid at the dojo your dad works at. I may or may not have it bad.” Kai ruffled his hair before sitting up. He had been texting Jay all throughout the day, telling jokes and commenting on stupid kids in their classes. It was fun, and the more Kai talked to him, the more and more he felt himself fall. It was dumb, and he knew it. The thing with soulmates is you do not know if they are platonic or not until you meet that person, but if Kai has a crush without meeting his soulmates, that could mean one of two things. One, that his soulmates are platonic and Kai has been fretting over nothing for the last few years, or, 

“Maybe he’s one of your soulmates.” Lloyd said, shrugging, “Or you are screwed.” He said, looking over to the teacher, who looked more tired than usual. Probably forgot his coffee that morning.

“Either way I’m screwed Lloyd! If he's not my soulmate, which is most likely, he probably will think I'm weird for having a  crush on him. And if he somehow is, he could get pissed at me because I don't talk ever!” Kai let out an exasperated sigh, flinging himself over his desk for a second time, “Just let me wallow in my Pythagorean Theorem. Forever.”

“We aren't even in geometry, Kai.”

“The moment, Lloyd Montgomery.” Kai said, chuckling to himself. Lloyd just rolled his eyes and started taking notes, hoping that he would get some information even if he missed most of his class. Kai continued to just sit there, staring at the board. He hoped Lloyd would not mind if he copied his notes later.

Once the bell rang Lloyd said, “Listen Kai, it may just be easiest to ask about his soulmate, and go from there. It could work out.” Lloyd swiftly left the room, running to the freshman classes. Kai just sighed, walking to English and contemplating whether or not Lloyd has the right idea. He probably did, but Lloyd was younger, why should Kai listen to him?

Once lunch rolled around, Kai sat with Nya and Lloyd at some table full of kids. Nya frowned at Kai as he depressedly ate his even more depressing lunch, “You really need to make friends, Kai. Like, friends your age that go here.” Nya said, leaning on the lunch table, “Am I right, Lloyd?”

“You're right Nya.” Lloyd said, almost as if this interaction was scripted.

“See, I’m right!” Nya exclaimed, standing up and pointing at Kai, who just looked at her with a blank expression. She narrowed her eyebrows and said in a dramatic tone of voice, “We’re kicking you out of our table.” Kai stared up at her, with a dumb expression. When she did not sit down after their staring contest Kai sighed, taking his tray and moving tables,

“Gee, thanks Nya.” He said sarcastically,

“You’re welcome!” Nya called, as if she could hear Kai. Rolling his eyes, Kai traversed the lunchroom, scanning for some place to sit. There was the drama table, chattering the loudest, despite having only a few people at it. The jock table was the obvious choice for Kai, but that was the table he was just kicked out of. Kai, the quarterback for fuck's sake. There was the nerd table, social suicide. And then some miscellaneous tables but they were completely full and probably really closely knit. There was the not eating in the lunchroom option, but that was for the marching band. Sighing, Kai sat at the drama table. The kids all looked at him, almost afraid. But once he did not do anything mean or whatever they were expecting, they went back to talking about something involving a Pierre and a comet.

“Yo, you're the new kid at the dojo, yeah?” Some kid next to Kai said, looking awfully familiar. Kai stared at him with a blank expression, “I guess being kicked out of your table has done a number on you. It's me, Cole. The kid who Jay was laughing at.” Cole smirked, flexing his bicep jokingly. He was actually more built than Kai, which shocked and disturbed Kai.

“Oh yeah. You were the guy who kept getting his ass kicked by some scrawny guy with white hair.” Kai blurted out, smirking back at Cole, “Nice to meet you, I’m Kai.” He said, combing his hair out of his face. Cole’s smirk faded as he got a really sad look on his face, looking at his seat,

“I’ll never be able to beat Zane huh..?” Cole said glumly, “He’s the only one I can't beat! I've beaten everything else. He’s like… A final boss almost.” Cole said, throwing his arms above his head, “I'm like the Newsies trying to get better pay or whatever.” Kai just stared perplexed. He understood the first analogy, but the second one was just gibberish. Kai patted Cole’s back sympathetically,

“We can't always win.” Kai said, attempting to console his distressed acquaintance.

“Yeah, unless we’re Zane.” Cole grumbled, “I bet he cheats.”

“How do you cheat at a martial art?” Kai asked, curious what Cole’s wacky answer would be.

“Guhh I don't know? Maybe he's a robot or something.” Cole ruffled his hair, as if searching for an answer in his brain and that would help somehow. Kai shrugged, taking his phone out and began to text Jay. 

**You:**

DUDE COLE GOES TO MY SCHOOL

CONSPIRACY THEORY: ZANE IS A ROBOT

**Jay ⚡:**

**HOLY SHIT!!!**

“If you're going to make fun of me… at least do it to my face.” Cole said, frowning as Kai held back a laugh.

“I’m sorry, Jay is just ridiculous.” Kai said as he took a photo of Cole, as he deliberately intensified his frown for the photo.

**You sent a photo.**

**Jay⚡:**

**THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND! COLE!!!**

“Dude what's your number, we should totally talk and stuff.” Cole said, reaching for his… flip phone?

“Is that a flip phone in our good year of 2017?” Kai asked, in mock terror.

“Yes Kai, yes it is.” Cole said, playing along. Once they exchanged numbers and kept talking about dumb things the history teachers have said, the lunch bell rang. They went their separate ways, and Kai could feel himself get happier. He was glad football season was over, so he would be able to go to the dojo everyday. Downside: it was really cold all the time. When Kai left for home, he and Nya had to shove their hands and their pockets and their shirts. Once they eventually made it to their apartment, they relaxed, turning up the heat so the place could potentially spontaneously combust.

Nya went to work on schoolwork before procrastinating and talking to her soulmate. Nya was closer to finding out who they were. They are a girl, she lives in another state, and she travels a lot. Nya hopes that one day she can visit, and Kai just keeps smiling and nodding, afraid of what Nya’s soulmate could do. If somebody matched with his little sister, Kai was in a run for his money.

Checking his phone, Kai sees a wall of texts from Cole and Jay. Smiling to himself he checks his arm. Unusually, they were quieter today, however the white and black ones had a long discussion about foods. Going back to his phone, Kai checked the time and panicked, he was going to be late again. Rushing to his duffle bag and placing his work next to Nya he said, “I have to go to the dojo, please do my work! Bye love you!” He called that last sentence as he ran out of the door, barely catching the bus.

When Kai made it, late just like the day before, Cole was getting beat up by Zane again. Kai quickly returned to his place next to Jay, and they bumped elbows with each other. Wu shook his head at the two of them, but continued to let the class go on.

The class went on with nothing unusual, just your typical anime battle between Zane and Cole. However once everything was over and Kai was quickly changing, Jay came up behind him, patting his shoulder as Kai was putting his shirt on, “Good job today! Your form needs work though. Nothin’ a little practice with me won't fix!” Jay jutted his thumb at himself, and Kai laughed, finishing putting his shirt on. He did not notice Jay’s glance at Kai’s arm, the fall of his smile, before putting it right back on, “See you later Kai!” Jay called, quickly leaving. Kai followed after, oblivious to the fact that the amount of people who knew about his secret increased by one. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi im tfmitmgftw-ninjago and I hate soulmate aus


End file.
